The Kings of Judah David: Serving His Generation 2 Samuel 23:1-5 Lesson II Written: November 17, 1985

Transcription

1 The Kings of Judah David: Serving His Generation 2 Samuel 23:1-5 Lesson II Written: November 17, 1985 Last week we introduced David as the Shepherd, the Singer, The Saint, The Sinner, who had a Saviour, who became a Seer and a Scribe. There is so much in the Bible about David and so much written by David, that it is difficult to reduce the story to three or four lessons. But look again at our text. 1. DAVID WAS RAISED UP BY GOD. 1. Psalm. 40:2,3 He brought me UP. David remembered that! He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Psalm. 40:2, Samuel 2:6-8 Exodus 4:11 The Lord lifteth up. He is sovereign. Last week a preacher on T.V. said that Job 1:21 is wrong. That Job's theology was not true. But look at Job 1:22 and say that! The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them. 1 Samuel 2:6-8 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Exodus 4:11 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Job 1:21 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Job 1:22 3. Luke 1:46-52 Hear Mary. Page 1 of 5

2 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. Luke 1: Read Romans. 3:9-18,23 ALL are sinners. Here I ask some questions. Was David correct when he said of himself, the Lord brought me up from a horrible pit? Look at Psalm 14:2,3. Was David correct when he said that ALL humans are filthy? That God could not find even ONE that is good? It seems to me that David did not think highly of himself, nor did he argue about his "self-worth. Verse 9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Verse 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans. 3:9-18,23 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Psalm 14:2,3 Secondly, was Hannah correct when she said The Lord takes life...the Lord killeth? And also gives life? The Lord (not the Devil now), the Lord maketh poor and the Lord maketh rich? The Lord humbles and the Lord exalts. HE raiseth up the poor out of the dust. He lifteth the beggar from the dunghill? We are apt to respond, "now Hannah,you have gone too far". where is your knowledge of human worth? Hannah, are you suggesting, are you daring to say, that you are only a worm on the dunghill? And worse still, are you suggesting that the rest of us...all of us, each one of us is only a worm? Hannah, there isn't much self-esteem in that! Walter Smith would often say, " You poor miserable magot trying in your own strength to climb higher on the dunghill"! Oh that we could see that fallen human beings are but as worms of the dust in God's sight. We will never see ourselves as we really are until we see God as He really is. Any theology that makes man BIG will, of necessity make God SMALL And any theology that gives God His rightful place, or if you will, makes God BIG can only make man very small. Page 2 of 5

3 Again, was Mary right when she spoke of her "low estate"? When she said "God exalts people of low degree"? It seems to me that Mary had missed out on this thing called "self-worth" and "self-esteem". Rejoicing in her Saviour she was acknowledging that she was a sinner. Men like to hear, humans would rather be told "how good they are. But we humans will never see the need of a complete full salvation, the need of asaviour to save from sin, until we see ourselves as vile sinners. Was Paul right when he wrote, "there is none righteous, no not one"? Think about this! When he dared to say that men are all like a sepulchre, an open, rotten stinking grave? In many modern books that I have read and many sermons that I have heard in recent years, I am persuaded that there is in them, much more human psychology than there is of good old Bible theology! This "self-worth" doctrine appeals to human nature. This "self-esteem" doctrine appeals to human pride. It feeds the ego. But remember, God hates a proud look. (Proverbs. 6:16-17). God hates pride. We need to learn to sing again: "Pride I abase, I'm only a sinner saved by grace. These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, Proverbs. 6:16-17 Romans 7:18 says, in our flesh is no good thing. Your and mine. Philippians 3:3 we are to have no confidence in the flesh..saved or unsaved. It is God who raised up David. It is God who raised us up! It is God who can fill us up! It is God who can keep us up! And at last, take us up! For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. Romans 7: DAVID SERVED HIS GENERATION. 1. Acts 13:36 Every generation must serve its own generation. Serving ones generation is an important subject. If my thinking is clear- each generation is unique, even though the human problems are basically the same. Applying my thoughts to my experience I see first,. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: Acts 13:36 Page 3 of 5

4 2. MY GRANDFATHERS GENERATION belonged to a generation of pioneers in this country. Uprooted from homes and secure little communities in the east, they came and settled in sparsely inhabited areas of western Canada. Their very life-style made them rough, rugged hardy individuals who had to survive by what they did with their own hands. There were no government hand-outs, except a piece of raw, unbroken land. No social security; no hospitalization and no pensions. All was hard, hard work. My grandfather had his breakfast at 6 o'clock every morning. In those days there were wagon-trails but few roads. If there were any preachers, they rode horseback. (I don't think they won beauty contests or any fashion shows!) They went from homestead to homestead; and a little later from school house to school house. It was mostly a one on one ministry. It was physically hard, but often spiritually rewarding. But we know there were Christian men and women there to serve that generation. 3. MY FATHER'S GENERATION followed world war one. The twenties, thirties and forties. The roaring twenties. The dirty thirties and the fighting forties. Actually, that generation started with a war and came to a conclusion with a second world war. Ministry to that generation, in many ways was not as difficult. It was hard in the thirties; without any money and very few material things. But the financial collapse which introduced the 30s,made many people think. The days of the depression were days of spiritual revival. Often people went to church because there was nothing else they could afford to do. And when world war two came, many of that generation were wide-open to the gospel. Gimmicks were not necessary to attract people. 4. IN THE EARLY FORTY's, when my generation began to serve, one could go to any school house, and dance hall, put up a tent in almost any village, stand and preach on any street-corner, and there would always be an audience. I could tell many experiencesabout little villages where I preached on the street. Kayville, Pangman, Truax, Ceylon, Radville to name a few. I recall going to a school house, called Mayville school on the correction line four miles north of Radville, in 1939, 1940,and I think1941, we would go on a Sunday afternoon and the little school house would be filled with people. Because our fathers served their generation well, they pushed us into active service. In those days, black was black and white was white. Christians were separated from the world. Men were either saved or lost. There was little or no compromise. MY GENERATION overlapped into the forty's, faced the filthy fifties; the sexy sixties and the severe seventy's. By and large, including the 40's.they were the years of the greatest prosperity our part of the world had ever known. Materialism flourished. Coming out of the great depression, people gave themselves over to making money. Preachers started to build bigger and better church-buildings. School, halls and dance halls were no longer acceptable. Because of money and now, good roads, good cars, and then better aircraft, people began to travel as never before in history. The ministry had to adjust to that generation. People and preachers alike, began to believe that prosperity was our right, that material gain is godliness; that we should never be in want of anything and as they increased so they sinned against the Lord. People became more and more self-centered. More and more earthly minded and less and less heavenly minded. But we have endeavoured to serve such a generation. Page 4 of 5

5 NOW A NEW GENERATION is here. My sons, in the faith, in ministry now face the late 80s and 90s.and beyond. The problems today seem to be more complex than ever. But if this generation is serving the terminal generation, the last generation of this age, we and they have been told what to expect. Days like the days before the flood. Perilous times. 1. In this generation, broken homes and divorce are now common. (They were the exception when I began my ministry). Young men and women, being raised up of God today must be prepared to serve these people. And that will not be easy. With divorce has come the related problems; child abuse and troubled insecure children. And the problem is IN the church. 2. This is a generation with an ever increasing drug-problem. There have always been drugs but never in like volume. It is invading all areas of life; homes, schools, sports etc. But our young leaders must serve this generation. 3. It is rapidly becoming an urban dwelling generation. Our cities are getting larger. Our little villages and towns are dying. "These people become an independent generation. an indifferent generation that largely ignores the gospel."(p.w. September 1984). 4. It is an Educated Generation. Education is now big business. This generation is discovering that education is not always the answer. Said Luther, Educate a man without the Bible and you will make him a clever devil. I had a cartoon that told a modern story. A mother was showing another, pictures of her three sons. Of the first,(a small picture) she said he has a PHD. Of the second (small picture) he has a PHD. Of the third much larger picture, This boy has a job! Today we have troubled-educated young people as never before. 5. This is a revolutionary generation. A generation that seems to be out to over-throw completely, things as they are now. What was art is no longer art. What was music is no longer music. What once was decency, is no longer acceptable. 6. This is a rebellious generation. Judges 21:25 describes it. Rebellion will produce infidels and apostates. In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25 7. This is therefore a generation that has lost its sense of sin. It is rapidly becoming wicked and corrupt, both outside and inside the churches. Vance Havner ( C.T.March 12,71) "I am never tired of saying that what the church needs to do is not to organize evangelistic campaigns to attract outside people, but to begin herself to live. Only then can we serve this generation. Page 5 of 5